Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Answers The Tough Questions, But Rand Paul Hits Today's Bullseye

Posted • January 30, 2025: The confirmation games are continuing on Thursday, and some of the questions and statements are, as one might expect, treading into the realm of the sciences, specifically, biology and the practice of medicine. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump's nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), is still undergoing his confirmation hearings (grillings) in the Senate. On Thursday, a couple of gems were dropped. In the first, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) asks a good question and backs it with an interesting - and accurate - observation. -- Josh Hawley @HawleyMO: “RFK Jr. just told me he'll stop funding for any NIH research using fetal tissue from abortions.” […] Senator Hawley and Mr. Kennedy are correct; to my knowledge, and I have a background in biology, pluripotent stem cells can be taken from umbilical cord tissue and blood following a normal delivery, obviating any need to use fetal tissue. Given the enormous ethical concerns many people have with elective abortions, it seems obvious that any federal funding in stem cell research would take advantage of that fact.

But that wasn't the real zinger of the morning. Senator Rand Paul delivered what could have been seen as a six-minute Ted Talk on how science works and how delivery of things like vaccines, along with diet and other considerations, change over time, and how parents, not the government, should be making decisions that affect their children. This is a must-watch. Rand Paul just WENT OFF at RFK Jr.'s hearing. […] Senator Rand Paul, I would point out, is a practicing physician. He is an ophthalmologist - an eye surgeon - and does charity surgeries on patients during Senate recesses. He founded the Southern Kentucky Lions Eye Clinic, which provides eye care for charity patients who otherwise couldn't afford it. He knows a thing or two about the practice of medicine. By all means, listen to all of Senator Paul's remarks; he makes great points about how science works, and how so many medical issues pertaining not only to vaccines but to diet, food additives, and many other medical matters have become politicized, leading to the American people harboring a lot of distrust towards government health care policy.

Science, the Senator points out, is a tool, a process for analyzing data and arriving at conclusions. That process of inquiry led to the discovery of the possibilities of pluripotent stem cells, the possibilities they present - and that they may be found in umbilical cord tissue and blood following a normal birth. That process of inquiry led to the many vaccines that are safe and effective, starting in the early 1700s. If we are going to have a federal agency such as Health and Human Services, an agency which I remind you is not authorized by the Constitution, that's what HHS's focus must be on - rigorous scientific inquiry. Not politics.

RedState: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Answers the Tough Questions, but Rand Paul Hits Today's Bullseye
https://redstate.com/wardclark/2025/01/30/robert-f-kennedy-jr-answers-the-tough-questions-but-rand-paul-hits-todays-bulls-eye-n2185003
Twitchy: Sen. Rand Paul Just ATE Another Senator's LUNCH in Real Time While Defending RFK Jr. and HOT DAMN
https://twitchy.com/samj/2025/01/30/rand-paul-rfk-jr-n2407587